The Dragon and the Princess
by WanderLust20
Summary: Lucy is kidnapped by a crazed wizard. What will happen when Natsu has to choose between saving her life and winning the fight?


Lucy stood in front of the request board, trying to find a simple job she could handle on her own. After all, rent was due soon and she needed quick money; meaning she didn't want Natsu destroying half the town in the process. As she scanned her options, Lucy finally found the perfect one. All she had to do was go one town over and work in a restaurant for a day. The place served magical food, so the owner thought it would be cool to have wizard servers. It was only for one day and the pay was exactly what she needed to make the rest of her rent payment.

Lucy grabbed the job request off the board and was going to go home to change, when a familiar pink haired dragon slayer and a blue cat jumped in front of her, effectively blocking her path.

Natsu smiled at the celestial mage, all his teeth were showing like usual and Lucy couldn't help but return the smile. "Hey Lucy, you wanna go on a job?"

Lucy held up the paper in her hands. "Sorry Natsu, but I'm already going on a job."

"With who? It better not be the ice princess," Natsu grumbled.

Lucy laughed, "No, I'm going by myself. It's just working in a restaurant for the day in the next town. I'll be home by 8pm at the latest. I'm a little short on rent this month, so I need to make some quick cash."

Natsu looked dejected, almost like a kicked puppy. "Ok, I guess Happy and I could just hang out here today until you get back."

"Tell ya what, if you manage not to destroy Magnolia today, then we can go do something fun tonight when I get home."

"Alright!" Natsu seemed to perk up right away. Lucy started to head for the doors and Natsu shouted at her retreating back. "Be careful Luce!"

Lucy held up her right hand, showing off her guild mark. "I'll be fine Natsu, I'll see you tonight!"

Lucy had decided to walk home since her train had been delayed and she had promised Natsu that she'd be home by 8pm. It was already 6:45 and she was almost back to Magnolia. She would get home with enough time to change and meet her best friend at the guild; that is if he wasn't waiting for her in her house. _I really need to find out how Natsu and the others keep getting into my house even though I lock all the doors,_ Lucy thought to herself as she walked along the dirt path.

She was deep in thought and didn't sense the evil presence lurking behind her until it was too late. Lucy was shot with some kind of spell that paralyzed her and then, suddenly, everything went to black.

"Where the hell is she? It's half an hour past when she said she'd be home!" Natsu complained as he leaned against the bar. He'd been sitting in the same spot watching the front doors to the guild like a hawk since 7:30.

"Her train probably got delayed," Mira offered as she dried a beer mug.

"What's the matter flame-brain, you worried she stood you up?" Gray scoffed from a nearby table.

"You wanna go snowflake?!" Natsu roared as he and Gray jumped into one of their usual fights over nothing. Everyone was ducking and dodging as chairs, glasses, tables, and anything else that wasn't nailed to the floor was thrown through the air. Master was sitting on the bar and was laughing along with Mira at the two. Elfman was somewhere in the background yelling about a real man. The fight was put to an end when Erza bashed their heads together and said that's enough.

Lucy woke up chained to a cold stone wall in what appeared to be a dungeon cell. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust since there were no windows. Once she could see, Lucy noticed that there was a dingy mattress laying on the floor next to her and a pot in the corner, which she assumed was the bathroom, and she nearly had a heart attack when she saw a strange man sitting in a chair smiling at her.

"I'm glad your'e awake dear, I was worried that the spell I used to immobilize you was too strong." His voice sent shivers down Lucy's spine and his toothy grin made him look like a predator. He had barely spoken to her and she already was frightened of him.

"Wh-wh-who are y-you?" Lucy stammered. "And what do you want with me?"

"I am Draken, but you will call me Sir. As for what purpose you serve, I am going to use you as bait. I want to fight Natsu Dragneel and I know he fights his best when his friends are in danger. You seem to be his closest friend other than that stupid cat, so you were naturally the best bait."

Lucy was shocked. "Why the hell would you want to fight Natsu?"

"Simple, I want to prove that I'm stronger than him and that he's not invincible like everyone seems to think."

"You're insane!"

"Possibly," Draken shrugged. He then pulled a dangerous looking knife out of his sleeve; it was about 7 inches long with a black hilt and had an impossibly sharp point. "Now, I need to deliver a message to Fairy Tail and I think the best way to do that would be to hurt you so one of your celestial spirits shows up. Although they won't be able to get anywhere near you or I, so don't try anything."

The crazed wizard had barely finished speaking when he slashed the blade across Lucy's exposed stomach. The cut wasn't deep enough to be fatal, but it still hurt like hell and was bleeding pretty bad. Lucy let out a blood curdling scream. Within the blink of an eye, Loke was standing on the other side of the cell bars; he looked pissed.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing to Lucy!?" Loke bellowed.

"Ah good, just the spirit I wanted to see."

"Why can't I move any closer?" Loke was shaking with anger at this point.

"Because I put a spell around this room that prevents anyone that isn't human or anyone that possesses magic from entering other than myself. Now, I need you to do something for me."

"No way in hell would I do anything for you!"

Draken smirked and then slashed the blade across Lucy's shoulder this time; it was barely a flesh wound, it was a warning. "Just do what he says Loke, please!" Lucy begged as tears streamed down her face from the pain.

"Fine, what do you want?" Loke conceited.

"First, you need to know that the second you leave this building, a different spell will also take affect. This spell will prevent you from being able to locate this place again and it will make any memory you have about this place or myself a complete blur. Second, I need you to deliver a message to Natsu Dragneel and the Fairy Tail guild."

It was now almost 10pm and everyone was starting to wonder where Lucy was. Natsu sent Happy to check her house, thinking maybe she was so exhausted that she was taking a nap, but he returned saying the place was empty. Erza went to the train station only to find out that the train Lucy was supposed to be on had arrived an hour earlier. Gray and Juvia went to the market to see if maybe Lucy was buying groceries, but no one had seen her since that morning. Natsu was just about to send the entire guild out on a search party, when there was a bright flash in the middle of the guild hall.

Everyone was shocked to see Loke standing there. Natsu got excited because if the celestial spirit was here then that meant Lucy had to be nearby as well. Before anyone could say anything, Loke held out his hand and a projection appeared. It was large enough that all the guild members could see what was happening.

There was a strange man standing in a dingy cell grinning at them. Natsu couldn't care less about who this guy was; he should be out looking for Lucy.

"This message is for Natsu Dragneel, the Salamander. By now you've probably torn the entire city apart looking for your precious celestial mage, Lucy. You won't find her, because she's here with me. She's only slightly injured, but I can't promise that will be the case for long. I wish to fight you to prove that I am the strongest wizard in Fiore and I don't want you holding back, so I'm using your friend here as…..motivation. If you decide to battle me, then I will let her live, if you don't, well then you'll be finding what's left of her corpse on your Guild Hall's front steps. As for the location of this fight, the Lion has the coordinates written on a piece of paper. You have 48 hours until the battle; Lucy lives if you show up. And just to reassure you that she is in fact still alive, I'll show her to you." The view shifts to the left and Lucy comes into view. There's a collective gasp and a few "Holy shit's" as the guild sees their friend chained to a wall with blood running down her chest and abdomen; her clothes are torn and stained with dirt, sweat, and dried blood; she slowly lifts her head and now they can all see the black eye and knife cut across her right cheek.

"Please Natsu…." Lucy chokes out as she coughs violently, causing more blood to seep out of her wounds.

"Hopefully I'll be seeing you soon Salamander," Draken smirks and then the projection disappears.

Everyone turned to look at Natsu while slowly inching away from him in case he decided to suddenly burst into flames. It was so quiet you could've heard a pin drop.

Finally, Natsu broke the silence; since the projection disappeared, his eyes hadn't left that spot. "Where is she?" The entire guild knew the question was aimed at Loke, but what shocked the wizards was how low and calm Natsu's voice was.

"I can't remember," Loke answered, looking at his feet, dejected.

In less than a heartbeat, Natsu had spun around to face the celestial spirit with what could only be described as pure murder in his eyes. Both of his arms were now completely engulfed in flames and the wood under his feet was starting to smoke. "YOU HAVE UNTIL THE COUNT OF THREE TO START REMEMBERING!" Natsu bellowed as he started stalking towards Loke; with every step, his feet left black scorch marks on the floor.

Loke was backing away with his hands held up in front of him. "Natsu, calm down!"

"No fucking way am I gonna calm down! Not while Lucy's getting beaten and tortured by that sick freak and you won't tell me where she is!"

"I physically can't remember! Every time I try, the memory is all foggy and I can't picture anything! The bastard put a memory blocking spell on me when I left!"

Natsu extinguished his flames but the murderous look in his eyes was still there. "Well why did you leave without her?"

"Because I didn't have a goddamn choice! There was a barrier preventing me from getting to her and when he asked me to deliver that message, I said no way in hell. That's when….when he cut her the second time, the first time was to summon me there. I was going to say no again, but Lucy _begged me_ to do whatever he said." Loke was almost in tears remembering how Lucy's voice cracked as she begged him to go along with this madman's plan, just to end her pain. "Natsu, I have seen Lucy cry, I've seen her get the shit beat out of her and still smile through the pain, I've even seen her look death in the face and smile. But not once has she ever begged me for anything."

"What are you going to do Natsu Dragneel?" Master Makorav spoke up from his seat on the bar top.

Natsu thought about beating the shit out of Loke until he got answers. Natsu thought about burning down the entire forest incase that's where Lucy was being hidden. Natsu thought, for the first time in his life, about killing someone. However, he couldn't do any of those things, at least not right now, because none of those would save his Lucy.

"I'll play by his rules until Lucy is safe," Natsu said calmly. "Then I'm going to burn him alive until there's nothing left, not even ash."

Lucy's head bounced off the cement as Draken's boot jammed into the side of her skull again; she could taste the blood in her mouth and she saw black spots dancing on the edge of her vision. This was the second beating Lucy had endured since Loke vanished and she didn't know how much more she could take. The celestial wizard could no longer open her right eye as it was swollen shut; her ribs were cracked, making it difficult to breath; her body was littered with bruises and knife cuts. Lucy no longer cried out from the pain, which made Draken want to find new ways of torturing her.

"For the last time, tell me what Salamander's weaknesses are!" Draken hollered. "Your'e his best friend and teammate, you have to know something."

Lucy spat the blood out of her mouth and started to laugh, although it sounded more like a strangled cough. Draken had choked her earlier until she was practically on death's doorstep; making her throat sore and talking nearly impossible. "How many times do I have to tell you _Sir,_ Natsu doesn't have any weakness."

"Wrong answer." Draken then slammed his foot into Lucy's face again and everything went black.

Natsu, along with the entire Fairy Tail Guild, were standing in a giant clearing just outside of Magnolia. According to the paper Loke had given him, this is the spot Draken had chosen for the fight. Erza, Gray, and Juvia had arrived early in order to scout around incase the bastard had set any traps, but they didn't find anything out of the ordinary.

The note had said to be here at noon, it was now twenty minutes past that and Natsu was wondering if the creep was ever going to show up. Another five minutes went by before Draken materialized out of thin air; he was holding Lucy up by gripping onto the back of her neck.

Natsu saw this and started moving towards the kidnapper. "Get your filthy hands off of her!"

"Fine," Draken smirked as he tossed Lucy aside like a rag doll; she grunted in pain as she slammed against the hard ground. At the same time, there was a flash of purple light that formed a circle around the three of them; effectively blocking the rest of the guild out. "Sorry about the barrier, but this fight is between you and I, so I don't want your friends interfering."

Lucy moaned in pain as she managed to prop herself up onto her knees. It was then that Natsu could really see her injuries; seeing her in a projection was one thing, but being able to smell her blood and sense her pain made this horrible nightmare a reality. Her once white shirt was now a muddy red color from the dirt and blood mixed together; he could see the swelling of her eye and thought how unnatural the purple bruise looked on her face. Natsu couldn't control his rage anymore; Lucy was his teammate, his friend, she was _his._

The dragon slayer felt the anger boil over until flames irrupted from his fists. "You're gonna pay for hurting Lucy!" Natsu yelled as he ran at the other mage. "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!"

"Natsu, DON'T!" Lucy shouted, but she was too late.

Natsu hit Draken square in the chest as hard as he could and sent the man flying backwards into the barrier; stopping him dead in his tracks and Draken hit the ground like a rock.

That's when Natsu saw another fire projectile fly through the air; he turned just in time to see it crash into Lucy. The sound of her bloodcurdling scream rang in his ears and he heard her body crunch as it was thrown into a nearby tree.

As Natsu stood there, too stunned to move, he heard a maniacal laugh coming from the mage on the ground. Draken slowly stood; casually brushing the dirt off his clothes as he did so.

"Silly me, I should've mentioned this earlier. There is a link spell connecting the celestial mage and I; meaning whatever you do to me, you do to her."

Natsu began to shake with anger; he was angry at himself for hurting Lucy and he was angry at Draken for making him do so. "Then you might as well kill me because I refuse to fight you if it means hurting Lucy."

"How pathetic; the great Salamander is giving up so easily. You don't deserve to call yourself a dragon slayer and you most certainly don't deserve to continue breathing."

The words had barely left his mouth when a purple lightning bolt struck Natsu; sending him crashing into the barrier. Before the dragon slayer could stand, Draken attacked again; this time purple smoke wrapped around the fire mage's body, crushing him until he could barely breathe.

Lucy saw this happening from her position on the ground, tears streaming down her face, as she watched the life being crushed out of her best friend. "N-Natsu, y-you have to fight back!" Lucy managed to squeeze out.

"I can't without hurting you Luce."

"So what? I refuse to watch you die because of me, you need to fight him. I can handle whatever attack you use, I'll be strong for you!"

Hearing those words made Natsu's heart beat harder against his ribcage and he felt proud at how strong his Lucy was being, considering the situation.

"I'm sorry for what's about to happen Luce," Natsu whispered. The Salamander then burst into flames, effectively disintegrating the smoke that had been crushing him. Without missing a beat, Natsu rushed at the other mage and hit him with his fire dragon kick. At the edge of his mind, Natsu heard Lucy cry out in pain.

Lucy could smell her own burning flesh as smoke rose from her charred clothing. She heard Natsu yell and a second later she felt her body being blasted into the tree again, except this time the tree splintered; Lucy felt the stinging pain of wooden splinters piercing her skin. Hit after hit, the celestial mage felt her body and spirit grow weaker, but she had promised to be strong for Natsu. Lucy was hit again, this time by Natsu's fire dragon claw attack; there were now four ragged claw marks across her chest. She was now laying in a pool of her own blood; it was soaked into her clothes, it stained the ends of her golden hair red, it made her fingers slippery on the ground as she tried to push herself up with the last of her strength. Somehow, she had managed to prop herself up against the damaged tree, as she felt her strength slowly fading away.

The guild members were cheering on Natsu and Lucy, since she was a participant in this fight as well. Erza and Gray were shouting out attacks that Natsu could use that would be effective without causing too much harm to Lucy's broken body. Levy was doing what she did best: studying; she was studying the mage named Draken. The bookworm couldn't tell what kind of magic he was using; it all centered around the purple smoke for some reason, but it could take on different forms. Draken lunged to the side in order to dodge Natsu's attack, but was blindsided by another, that's when Levy noticed something. She knew how Natsu could save Lucy.

"Natsu, you have to destroy the charm hanging around his neck!" Levy shouted at the fire breather.

"What are you talking about Levy?" Natsu growled as he was nailed in the side by Draken's magical smoke.

"Listen to me! Every time Draken is hit, that charm lights up, and then Lucy is attacked! The charm is what he's using to control the link spell!"

Natsu attacked the mage again by kicking him in the stomach and he saw what Levy was babbling about. Hanging around Draken's neck was a silver chain with a matching star attached; at the center of the star was a purple stone that shone brightly when Natsu's foot impacted Draken, then he heard Lucy's pain filled groan.

Without hesitating, Natsu grabbed the star and yanked on it, causing the chain to snap. Natsu then set the hand he was holding the charm with on fire and didn't stop until there was nothing left except a pool of melted silver on the ground. Once the charm was gone, the barrier keeping the guild members out, disintegrated. It seemed like Draken had been pulling his magic from that silver charm and, without it, he was now defenseless.

"Now you're going to pay for hurting Lucy," Natsu whispered as he turned his murderous gaze to the pitiful mage in front of him.

The dragon slayer beat Draken within an inch of his life, and was about to deliver the final blow, when Gray grabbed his arm and encased it in ice.

"Let me go Gray! This bastard doesn't deserve to live after what he did," Natsu growled at the ice mage.

"I agree flame brain, but Lucy needs you right now. This scum can wait," Gray said as he pointed to where Lucy was laying flat on the ground, with Wendy kneeling next to her.

Natsu immediately forgot about killing the mage laying beneath him and rushed over to his friend.

"I managed to stop the bleeding and heal her internal injuries, but I need you to carry her back to the guild so I can give her proper treatment," Wendy informed Natsu.

Very carefully, so as not to hurt her anymore, Natsu lifted Lucy up bridal style and hustled back to the guild. Erza and Gray were given the task of delivering Draken to the proper authorities.

Back at the guild, Lucy was laying on a bed in the infirmary; she had bandages wrapped around her entire torso, there was a bandage on her neck from where she had been cut, she had similar bandages on her legs and arms.

Natsu was sitting beside her, holding her hand, with tears in his eyes. "I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you Lucy."

"You should go get some rest or get something to eat," Wendy said gently. "I gave her some pretty strong medicine, so she won't be waking up anytime soon. I promise you Natsu, she's going to be fine."

Naturally, the dragon slayer refused to leave, so Wendy had to have Erza drag him out of there by his scarf. Wendy had forbidden him from reentering the room until she said it was ok. This left Natsu with only one option: to sulk around the guild hall.

It had been four days since Lucy was rescued. Draken had been sent to a maximum security prison by the Magic Council for his crimes. Natsu had been sleeping at the guild; he refused to leave because he wanted to be there when Lucy woke up.

Natsu was sitting at a table with Erza, Gray, and Happy, who had all been trying to cheer him up, the whole guild had been. He was pushing the food on his plate around; he hadn't eaten much since Wendy kicked him out of Lucy's room. Just then, the door leading to the infirmary opened and Carla walked out.

"Just take it easy, one step at a time, you're still not a 100% healed." Natsu jumped to his feet, turning towards the voice he heard coming from the hallway.

A few seconds after he heard Wendy's voice, he saw her blue hair peeking out of the doorway. Soon, her body was completely out of the doorway and Natsu could see that she wasn't alone. Wendy had her hand on a certain blonde mage's shoulder, who was limping in on crutches.

"Lucy," Natsu whispered. In a heart beat, Natsu had his arms wrapped around Lucy, being careful not to hurt her, and there were tears in his eyes. "I thought I was going to lose you." Lucy was forced to drop her crutches when Natsu hugged her.

"Thank you for saving me Natsu and, for the record, I don't plan on going anywhere for a long, long time."

A strong need to protect Lucy washed over him; he was never going to let anyone hurt her like that again. Natsu swore he would make her smile every day and, if she cried, he would wipe away the tears. No one would use her against him again; Lucy didn't deserve to be in pain. Just looking at her bandaged body made him nearly drown in his guilt. He had to burn the the clothes he was wearing when he brought her back to the guild because her blood had soaked into them. Natsu was going to protect Lucy until the day he died. Seeing her bleeding out on the ground had shattered his heart into a million pieces, but she had been strong, just like she had promised. His heart had swelled with pride, hope, and love when he saw her limping in on those crutches. Natsu needed Lucy to understand how much she meant to him, even if she didn't feel the same way, he had to do this.

Natsu moved his hands so they were now cradling Lucy's face and he rested his forehead against hers. "Remember, you will always be my princess. I love you Lucy, I have since the first day we met."

Lucy let out a gasp as Natsu pressed his lips forcefully against hers; she wrapped her arms around Natsu's neck and he deepened the kiss. His lips were hot against hers and their tongues danced together.

"About damn time!" Gray shouted as the guild erupted in cheers and laughter.

Lucy felt her heart bloom as she whispered against Natsu's lips, "I love you too Natsu; you will always be my dragon."


End file.
